Love Under Fire

“The Time Is Fulfilled”

Christ had sent them out with the message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). That message was based on the prophecy of Daniel 9. The sixty-nine weeks were to extend to “Messiah the Prince,” and the disciples looked forward to the establishment of Messiah's kingdom at Jerusalem to rule over the whole earth. LF 145.5

They preached the message Jesus gave them, though they misunderstood its meaning. While their announcement was based on Daniel 9:25, they did not see in the next verse that Messiah was going to be “cut off.” They had set their hearts on the glory of an earthly empire, and this blinded their understanding. At the very time when they expected to see their Lord take the throne of David, they saw Him arrested, whipped, mocked, condemned, and lifted up on the cross. What despair and anguish wrung the hearts of those disciples! LF 146.1

Christ had come at the exact time foretold. Scripture had been fulfilled in every detail. The Word and the Spirit of God confirmed the divine commission of His Son. And yet the disciples’ minds were clouded with doubt. If Jesus had been the true Messiah, would they have been plunged into such grief and disappointment? This was the question that tortured their souls during the hopeless hours of that Sabbath between His death and resurrection. LF 146.2

Yet God had not forsaken them. “When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.... He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.” “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness.” “I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.” (Micah 7:8, 9; Psalm 112:4; Isaiah 42:16.) LF 146.3

The announcement the disciples made was correct, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” When “the time” expired—the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel 9 that would reach to the Messiah, “the Anointed One”—Christ had received the anointing of the Spirit after His baptism by John. The “kingdom of God” was not an earthly empire, as they had been taught to believe. Nor was it that future, immortal kingdom in which “all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:27). LF 146.4

The expression “kingdom of God” refers to both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. The apostle says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace” (Hebrews 4:16). The existence of a throne implies the existence of a kingdom. Christ uses the expression “the kingdom of heaven” to designate the work of grace on human hearts. So the throne of glory represents the kingdom of glory (Matthew 25:31, 32). This kingdom is still future. It will not be set up until the second coming of Christ. LF 146.5

When the Savior gave up His life and cried out, “It is finished,” He ratified the promise of salvation made to the sinful pair in Eden. The kingdom of grace, which had existed before by the promise of God, was then established. LF 146.6

In this way the death of Christ—the event the disciples saw as destroying their hope—was what actually made it secure forever. While it brought a cruel disappointment, it was the proof that their belief had been correct. The event that had filled them with despair opened the door of hope to all God's faithful ones in all ages. LF 146.7

Mixed in with the pure gold of the disciples’ love for Jesus was the cheap metal of selfish ambitions. Their attention was fastened on the throne, the crown, and the glory. Their pride of heart, their thirst for worldly glory, had led them not to notice the Savior's words showing the true nature of His kingdom and pointing forward to His death. These errors resulted in the ordeal that God permitted to correct them. God would entrust the disciples with the glorious gospel of their risen Lord. To prepare them for this work, He permitted the experience that seemed so bitter. LF 146.8

After His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples on the road to Emmaus and “expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” He wanted to fasten their faith on the “prophetic word confirmed” (Luke 24:27; 2 Peter 1:19), not just by His personal testimony, but by the prophecies of the Old Testament. And as the very first step in giving them this knowledge, Jesus directed the disciples to “Moses and all the Prophets” of the Old Testament Scriptures. LF 147.1